Update *** Hot Ash from Barbeque Grill Start a Deck Fire

Address correction for this incident: The incident occurred at 3201 Elm Grove Apt A. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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On 02/17/2013, members of the Columbia Fire Department were dispatched, at 22:58 pm, to a reported residential structure fire at 4406 Brown Station Rd. Upon their arrival at 23:03 pm crews found an fire involving the deck and an exterior wall on the rear of the unoccupied structure. The fire was extinguished quickly and did not involve the interior or the attic space of the structure.

Assistant Fire Marshal Shawn McCollom investigated the fire and determined the area of origin for the fire was on the deck under the barbeque grill. He also determined the cause of the fire associated with hot embers from a barbeque grill that had just been used earlier in the evening. The residents had been burning charcoal briquettes in a gas grill and the hot ash had escaped from the bottom of the grill. AFM McCollom released a preliminary damage estimate of $5,000.00. There were no injuries associated with this fire.